Filmmaker Reema Kagti’s last directorial venture was in 2012, Talaash, with Aamir Khan. She took quite a long time to come up with her next project Mr. Chaloo for which she had approached Saif Ali Khan, who later opted out of the film, leaving her stranded. Since then, Reema hadn’t thought of any projects untill now when she announced that she would be making Gold with Akshay Kumar.
Gold recreates India’s historic win for hockey at the 1948 Olympics. What took Reema so long to come up with a new project? And what excited her towards Gold, a sports based film? The filmmaker talked to a leading of late and expressed her desire to tell a sports-based story differently. She said:
I’ve always been interested in great sports films. And I wanted to direct one. It wasn’t until my friend, lyricist-writer Ankur Tewari shared the idea of a film on a historic hockey match that India played at the 1948 Olympics and brought home India’s first gold medal, that I finally got down to doing my own film.
Akshay Kumar- Gold: (Courtesy: Instagram)
She also made it clear that the film would be a fictional. Talking about the same, she mentioned:
The film would be a fictional take on what actually happened. The game of hockey would feature prominently in the plot, but there will also be a strong human drama playing at the forefront. And it wouldn’t be just the Olympics victory in 1948 we will be looking at. Gold will look at 12 crucial years in India’s history.
Akshay Kumar’
(Courtesy: Express)
Reema also talked about why she chose Akshay Kumar and didn’t approach Aamir Khan once again for Gold. For her, the Khiladi Kumar was her first and only choice and she calls it a ‘dream casting.’
Also read: Do you know who is hockey star Balbir Singh — Akshay Kumar’s character in GOLD?
Gold has Akshay Kumar playing the role of hockey player Balbir Singh. Earlier, the actor had played the role of a cricketer in Patiala House. Gold would be yet another inspiring addition in the list of the biopics.
The movie will be helmed by Reema Kagti and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akthar. This will be the first collaboration between Akshay and Farhan.
— quotes from dna
